Half to james e



(No Model.)

-M.YR. THURBER,

GAR GOUPLING.

No. 255,701. Patented Mar. 28,1882.

PATENT- Orr-Ice.

MILTON It. VTHURBER, OF SORANTON,

PENNSYLVANIA, AssrcNou or ONE- HALF TO JAMES E. OARMOLT, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,701", dated March 28, 1882. Application filed January 4, 1882. (No model.)

new and useful Improvements in Oar-Ocuplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference beinghad to the'accompan yin g drawings, forming a part of this specification,

1o in whicht t Figure l isa side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section, showing the position of the parts when set for coupling; Fig. 3, a similar view, showing the position of the parts after the link has entered and the coupling has been effected. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the draw-head, taken on the line :c Fig. 1

Similar letters ot reference in the several 2a figures denote the same parts.

My present invention has for its object to improve the construction and operation of the device for which Letters Patent No. 242,167 were granted and issued to me May 31, 1881;

2 5 and it consists in certain improved details of construction whereby the par ts are better protected from the weather, and whereby, also, the coupling is rendered more certain and the danger of accidental uneoupling avoided, all

3o as I will now proceed to describe.

In the drawings, A represents the drawhead 5 B, an angular lever pivoted at b and working in a slotin the lower part of the, draw-head and carrying an upwardlyprojecting pin, O, near the end of its lower arm, b', as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The base ofthe arm b2 of the leverB is brought nearer the pin O than in my old patent, and said arm, instead-of being parallel with said pin, is inclined backwardly 4o therefro1n,as shown. Thisirnproved construct-ion renders the operation of coupling more certain with the link in the draw-head of carsy of diiferent heights. In the old coupling, when the link entered at a downward "angle, as of course it would when held b v the draw-head'of a higher car, it sometimes failed to enter far enough to ei'ectively operate on the arm b2. In the present case, the base of the arm b2 be ing nearer the pin C, or, in other words, far- 5o ther forward, the inclined link is not required to enter so far before striking the said arm b2.

rl'he latch D in the present invention is hinged in the lower part of the draW-head,`in stead ofthe upper part, as heretofore, and it plays within a recess, A', in the upper part, and is operated by a cross-bolt,'e,.which passes through its free'end and also through oblong slots S in the sides of the drawhea'd, and has its bearings inthe depending lugs or cams l of a lever-plate, L. The latch D, it will be observed, thus arranged is entirely within the draw-head, so that its operation cannot `be impeded by the accumulation of snow or ice. When the lever-plate is turned down upon the upper face of the draw-head, as shown in Fig. 1, a shoulder, e', on each of its side `lugs or cams l, engages with and rests upon a stop, m, on the side of the draw-head, as shown but when the said lever-plate is turned up the stops m form fulcrums for the cams I, and the crossbolt is made 4to rise up in the elongated slots in the sides of the draw-head, thus causing the latch to be raised' soas to disengage it from the pin O. lVheu the lever-plate isturned down it covers thepin-hole p in the upper part of the draw-head, made for the use of an ordi nary coupling-pin, and, as this is its normal position,it eifectnally prevents all snow and rain from passing into the interior of the drawhead. The cams of the lever-plate cover the elongated openings in the sides of the drawhead, and their shoulders c so engage with the stops m, when the lever-plate is down, as to lock the parts and prevent accidental uncoupling. When the device is set for automatic couplinguthe angular lever and pin are in the position shown in Fig. 2. As the link of an approaching car enters the draw-head itstrikes the face of arm b2 and` tilts the lever back on its pivot, thereby causing the latch to be swung upward, the pin O at the same time rising up through the link. VWhen the end of :arm b2 reaches a shoulder, d2, on the latch the latch falls back t`o its original position, leaving the arm b2 engaged with the shoulder d2 and the pin C projected'up'through the perforation d3 in the end of the latch, all as shown in Fig. 3.

In order to prevent the jammingof the arm b2 by the link when the cars are in motion, the draw-head is formed with protecting-shoulders a a just infront of said arm b2, as shown in Fig.4, and these shoulders form solid abut- ICO the lever-plate L, which can be done fromA either side of the draw-head or from above it,

as will be readily understood.

The pin C has one inch from its base an elongated knob, c', for the purpose of elevating or lowering the coupling-link and holding` itself adjusted either horizontally or lower to conform to the height-of the car to be coupled, whether on a level with or lower than the car having the link attached to it, making it unnecessary for a man to guide the link in the act of coupling, and doing away with the ne,- cessity of a brakelnan for that purpose. When the link is below the knob the link is horizontal; when above it inclines at an angle.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as V`neW -A 1. The combination, with the draw-head having the perforation p for the passage of an ordinary coupling-pin and the elongated openings S in its sides, of the camlever L and the cross-bolt e and latch D, the top of said camlever operating to close the pin-perforation when the latch is down, so as to entirely prevent the passage of snow, rain, 85e., into the draw-head through said perforation, substantially as described. f

2. The combination, with the draw head having thc elongated openings in its sides and the latch and angular lever` carrying the pin, ofthe cross-bolt e, the cam-lever and its cams, and the stops on the sides of the draw-head, substantially as described.

3. The pin Con the angular lever B, having the projection c' on its rear side, forming apositive angular shoulder for holding the link in horizontal position, substantially asdescribed.

MILTON R. THURBER.

Witnesses:

HoRA'rIo N. PATRICK, F. N. JENNINGs. 

